Monthly Archives: December 2012

Mobile Apps and Consumer Privacy: California is Setting a New Standard for App Developers

by Lizbeth Hasse

Do your mobile apps run afoul of California’s privacy laws? About one hundred mobile application developers are discovering that their products might be “illegal,” and many others now have to worry.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, consistent with her commitment to consumer privacy interests, has begun to send non-compliance letters to companies like United Airlines and OpenTable, whose applications not only offer consumers the convenience of tracking their flights or making dinner reservations, but also collect information about their preferences through their smartphones.

The Lively Jurisprudence of Dead Celebrities: Albert Einstein, New Jersey, and the Post-Mortem Right of Publicity

by Lizbeth Hasse

Will your image live longer than you do? Artists, celebrities, and other creatives often invest substantial time and effort cultivating a personal brand image, and most likely anticipate its longevity.

The law recognizes a person’s right to profit from this investment by preventing third parties from “free riding” on a famous individual’s name or likeness. A majority of states recognize this “right of publicity,” but vary as to whether this right should outlast its initial rightsholder and for how long.

In some, like New York, the right is extinguished with the death of the individual. But in others, including California, the right of publicity constitutes personal property that can be passed on to ones’ heirs.